Unusually, this issue includes a comment (from Professor David Shemmings) on a published paper (Granqvist et al., Citation2016) and a reply from Professor Granqvist.
The Granqvist et al. paper reports on the observation that infants may show disorganized attachment behavior for a range of reasons that do not indicate maltreatment, caregiver psychopathology or other forms of psychosocial risk. Granqvist et al. caution against over-reliance on the observation of disorganized attachments as – on its own – a definitive risk factor. The exchange of letters shared in this issue, together with the target paper, merit the attention of researchers, clinicians and policy makers.
Reference
- Granqvist, P., Hesse, E., Fransson, M., Main, M., Hagekull, B., & Bohlin, G. (2016). Prior participation in the strange situation and overstress jointly facilitate disorganized behaviours: Implications for theory, research and practice. Attachment & Human Development, 18, 235–249. doi:10.1080/14616734.2016.1151061